Beijing, the host of next year's Olympic Games, will offer an English-language phone service offering weather information from Friday.

The new service was an expansion of the current "12121" weather line, which only offered Chinese language forecasts, said Ding Deping, head of the Meteorological Science and Technology Service Center under the Beijing Municipal Meteorological Bureau.

"The number of transient foreigners in Beijing is estimated at about two million and will likely increase during next year's Olympics, so it's very necessary to offer English-language weather information," he said.

Ding said the "12121" English-language service would be gradually expanded to include weather information at scenic areas, forecasts for motorists and for holidays and festivals.